Bg. 3.13 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

यज्ञशिष्टाशिनः सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषै । भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात् ॥ १३ ॥

Verse text

yajṣa-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ bhuṣjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt

Synonyms

yajṣa-śiṣṭa — of food taken after performance of yajṣa ; aśinaḥ — eaters ; santaḥ — the devotees ; mucyante — get relief ; sarva — all kinds of ; kilbiṣaiḥ — from sins ; bhuṣjate — enjoy ; te — they ; tu — but ; agham — grievous sins ; pāpāḥ — sinners ; ye — who ; pacanti — prepare food ; ātma-kāraṇāt — for sense enjoyment.

Translation

The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

13. Those respectable people who eat the remnants of sacrifice are free from all sins. Those sinful persons who cook for themselves suffer from sin.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

13. Those respectable people who eat the remnants of sacrifice are free from all sins. Those sinful persons who cook for themselves suffer from sin.

Purport

The devotees of the Supreme Lord, or the persons who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, are called santas, and they are always in love with the Lord as it is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38) : premāṣjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti. The santas, being always in a compact of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda (the giver of all pleasures), or Mukunda (the giver of liberation), or Kṛṣṇa (the all-attractive person), cannot accept anything without first offering it to the Supreme Person. Therefore, such devotees always perform yajṣas in different modes of devotional service, such as śravaṇam, kīrtanam, smaraṇam, arcanam, etc., and these performances of yajṣas keep them always aloof from all kinds of contamination of sinful association in the material world. Others, who prepare food for self or sense gratification, are not only thieves but also the eaters of all kinds of sins. How can a person be happy if he is both a thief and sinful? It is not possible. Therefore, in order for people to become happy in all respects, they must be taught to perform the easy process of saṅkīrtana-yajṣa, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise, there can be no peace or happiness in the world.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Those who eat the food remnants of yajṣas such as the vaiśvadeva-yajṣa [Note: Usually at noon time small qualities of food are supposed to be offered to various devatās and to Agni.] become freed from all sins caused by the five types of violence to living entities. The five violent actions (paṣca-sūnā) are described in the smṛti: kaṇḍanī peṣaṇī cullī udakumbhī ca mārjanī paṣca-sūnā gṛhasthasya tābhiḥ svargaṁ na vindati The gṛhastha does not enjoy Svarga by commission of the five violent actions towards other living entities caused by using the mortar, grinding stone, the stove, the broom and water pot. Viṣṇu Smṛti 59. 19-20 [Note: The items are mentioned there, but with slight variation in the text. Also found in Manu Smṛti, and Saṅkha Smṛti.]

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

Those devotees (santaḥ) of the personification of sacrifice (yajṣa), devotees of the Lord of all, who, after worshipping the Lord of all, Viṣṇu or Yajṣa, whose limbs are the devas, then take the remnants to maintain their bodies, are free from all sins piled up from beginningless time (sarva kilbiṣaiḥ), which have created an obstacle to realization of ātmā. But those sinful people who cook only for their own nourishment (ātma kāraṇāt) food which is given by the Lord of sacrifice for His worship (within Whom are situated the devatas as his limbs), enjoy only sin (agham). The food such as rice which they cook is transformed into sin itself. Thus it is said that they eat only sin.